John Franco never fit the mold of a stereotypical closer. At 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, he was far from an intimidating presence on the mound. With a repertoire of pitches consisting of changing speeds and pinpoint control, batters were never going to overpowered. But when it came to representing a city, as he did with the Mets for 15 years, the fit was perfect.
The Brooklyn native and St. John’s alum overcame early skeptics convinced his small stature would prevent him from making it in the big leagues and eventual criticism for his penchant to often create ninth-inning drama with a definitive retort on April 14, 1999 — reaching a milestone only two others in major league history and no other left-handed reliever had achieved: save No. 400.
Before a crowd of 15,729 on a chilly spring evening at Shea Stadium, with his wife and brother in attendance, Franco entered in the ninth inning trying to protect a 4-1 lead against the Florida Marlins. After a pair of strikeouts, an uncharacteristic error by Edgardo Alfonzo on a pop-up sustained the drama. But Jorge Fabergas went down swinging on a slider. Franco let loose — jumping up and down before tossing his glove, receiving a bear hug from catcher Todd Pratt, and then being engulfed by his teammates.
”It means a pretty good accomplishment for me,” said Franco, who would go on to convert on each of his first 14 save opportunities in ’99. ”Some people don’t believe in the save statistic. It’s a pretty good accomplishment for me to be the second guy in the game to get it.”
The 1999 season would turn out to be bittersweet. A partial tear to the flexor tendon of his left middle finger in early July took him out of action until early September. His absence ceded the closer responsibilities to Armando Benítez, a job he wouldn’t surrender.
Franco returned to pitch well in his first-ever postseason, allowing only one earned run in 6.1 innings. He’d go on to compile 276 saves as a Met, the most in franchise history, and post a career save total of 424, which remains fifth all-time among closers and most among lefties.
